Part 3 - Missed Opportunities

Michael opened the door of his apartment to find Isabel standing there. She smiled brightly at him.

"Hello, Michael," she said as she pushed by him and entered. She looked around the apartment. "Michael, you have actually heard of the concept of dusting, haven't you?"

"Isabel, my apartment is perfectly clean and you know it. So, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?" Michael was watching her carefully. Usually when Isabel showed up, she had some sort of house-hold item with her as a gift - baking powder, air fresheners, contact paper for the drawers, an electric bottle opener. Once she had even brought over a plent, but he drew the line at anything alive and made her take it back. But he noticed that her hands were conspicuously empty this time.

"Why, Michael, you sound so suspicious," Isabel said with wide-eyed sincerity. Okay, now Michael was getting really nervous. "Can't a girl just want to drop by and say hello to one of her oldest and dearest friends?"

"Sure." He looked around the room nervously, finally finding something to distract attention away from himself. "Would you like a drink?"

"I would love a drink." Really, the perky cheerleader attitude was starting to scare Michael more than facing the Skins in Copper Summit had. He went over and poured her a glass of cold soda, lacing it with Tabasco sauce. Isabel had walked over to him, still talking. "Especially when that old and dear friend has been so worried about her that he's TOLD THEIR OTHER FRIENDS TO CHECK UP ON HER!"

Michael cursed as the temperature of the soda he was holding heated up as Isabel's voice raised. By the time she was finished speaking, the soda was boiling hot and the glass cracked. He dropped the glass to the floor, jumping out of the way of the spilled liquid.

Angrily, Michael looked up at her. But he looked away as he saw how she was glaring at him. "You had no right to tell Alex about what was going on, Michael. No right. That was my secret to tell, not yours."

"Hey, I didn't tell him any secrets." Isabel raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "I didn't. I just told Alex that you were upset and could use a friend right now." Michael carefully kept his distance. She still looked angry. "So, how did things go with the two of you?"

Isabel kept glaring for a minute, but then went to sit down on the couch. She looked up at him. "You can sit down, Michael. I'm not going to do anything else. I promise." Seeing that she wasn't moving, she rolled her eyes. "Some mighty warrior you're going to be, Michael, if you're too afraid to sit down next to a girl."

Michael grimaced. "Somehow I think that's a sign of wisdom in this case, not cowardice." Still, he walked over and sat next to her.

"It went really well. Much better than I could have hoped for." She looked off into space for a minute, a small smile on her lips, as if she was remembering something very pleasant. For a minute, he almost asked, but then decided he really didn't need to know the details. She went on. "I was so sure that Alex was going to hear about what Vilandra did and run screaming out of the house and I'd never hear from him again. But he was so calm about everything." She looked at Michael and there was so much pleased surprise on her face. "He honestly doesn't care, Michael. It doesn't change anything in the way he feels about me. I'm not sure he even believes it, but if it is true, it doesn't matter." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He still thinks I'm beautiful and that I'm a good person. He still wants me."

Michael nodded, pleased with himself. Max and he had been trying to make Isabel feel better about the whole Vilandra mess all week. They trusted her and knew that she would never betray them, but she wasn't so sure. Of them all, Michael understood her doubts the best. She needed to have someone whose opinion she trusted totally look at her and tell her that it wasn't important what she may or may not have done on another planet. He was glad that Alex had been up to the task.

"Well, then, it sounds like you and Alex are back on track, right?"

Isabel looked at him with some annoyance. "Yes, but that does not make it okay for you to go around talking about me behind my back, Michael. I mean it. How would you like it if I went around telling Maria everything that I know about you?"

Michael got up as soon as Maria's name came out of Isabel's mouth. He really didn't want to have to think about her right then. While her response to his confession hadn't surprised him, it had still hurt. He could understand Isabel's fear of what she might see in Alex's eyes when she told him the truth about her, because he lived with that fear himself daily. At least now she knows the truth and she'll stay away. She'll be safe, he tried to convince himself.

"You can tell Maria whatever you want, Isabel. We're over. For good this time."

He was surprised by the sound of Isabel's laughter. He looked at her in irritation.

"Oh, Michael, please," she got out between laughs. "That is so ridiculous. You two are never going to be over." Calming down, she went on in a more serious voice. "I saw the way you were looking at her while she was singing in Vegas, you know. I've never seen that look on your face before. You looked happy, Michael. Totally and completely happy."

He took a deep breath. "Maybe I was happy, Iz. But it just doesn't matter. My destiny is to fight and protect the rest of you. I can't be who she wants me to be, and she deserves to be happy, too."

"More than you do?" she asked gently.

"Yes." The answer came out instantly, stunning Isabel with its quiet sincerity. She got up and walked over to her other brother.

"Michael, you both deserve to be happy. Don't let Rath and Lonnie destroy what you have with Maria. When I think that I might have lost Alex . .... Just don't take that chance. You deserve to be loved, too." Reaching up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, Isabel turned to leave. She opened the door, and was about to leave, when she turned back. "Michael?"

"Yes?" He walked up to her.

"Thanks. For caring and for everything." Isabel reached over and hugged him. After a second, he put his arms around her and hugged her back.

"You're welcome, Izzy."

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Maria got out of the Jetta and entered Michael's apartment building. Ever since yesterday, she had been mentally reliving her last conversation with Michael, trying to work out her feelings about it. She'd been shocked when he admitted to wanting to kill Rath, but time had given her some perspective. If she was going to be perfectly honest with herself, she wanted Rath and Lonnie dead too. They were a threat to all of them in Roswell. All Rath and Lonnie cared about was power and getting back to their planet. The aliens in Roswell and the humans who knew about them were nothing more than obstacles in that quest. They had tried to kill Max twice, and had succeeded in killing Zan and Ava. Maria had never met Zan, but she had liked Ava. Seeing her killed like that had shocked all of them, and Maria hated the way it had scarred Tess. She seemed so vulnerable now. So, she could understand Michael's decision to remove the threat of Rath once and for all, even if she doubted he could actually kill his dupe in cold blood. Michael could kill in self-defense, in a fight, but Maria wondered if he could actually murder someone. She honestly didn't think so.

What bothered her the most was the pain she saw in Michael's eyes. It was the same pain she had seen right after Michael killed Pierce. And, just like then, he was pushing her away. Well, no more. She was sick and tired of it. He needed her to help him through this, to listen to him, to comfort him, and maybe just to hold him while he cried. So, she was going to see him and they were going to discuss things, whether he felt like it or not.

As Maria walked down the hallway to Michael's apartment, she heard voices. As she looked up, she saw that the door was open. What she saw made her stop in shock.

Michael was standing there, arms tight around Isabel.

Holding Isabel close to him.

Getting comfort from Isabel, not her.

She must have made a sound, because suddenly Michael and Isabel broke apart and looked up. Maria turned and ran back down to the car, ignoring Isabel's cries.

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Michael felt frozen inside. He hated seeing that look in Maria's eyes. It was the same look she had when she found him at Courtney's apartment, only more so. He could almost feel what she was feeling, as if she'd been sucker-punched and couldn't breathe. Then he noticed that Isabel was moving away, and he grabbed her arm.

"Let me go, Michael. I have to stop her." Michael kept a tight grasp on her arm.

"Let her go." He was amazed at how calmly he said this. Nasedo would have been proud - he was learning to keep his human emotions in check. Too bad he couldn't convince himself of that. "It's better this way."

Isabel looked at him in shock. "Michael, you know what she's thinking, right? That you and I were, you know."

He simply nodded. Hearing the sound of the Jetta starting, he let go of Isabel's arm and walked back to the couch.

Isabel walked over to look at him speculatively, rubbing her arm. "Michael, what you're doing is just going to end up hurting you both more in the long run. You know that, too, don't you?"

"Isabel, thanks for wanting to help. But I know what I'm doing. Honestly."

She shook her head slowly. "I don't think you do. Just think about what I said? Please?"

When he didn't answer, Isabel walked over to the door and left, closing the door gently after her.

The second the door closed, Michael closed his eyes. He was left with only the thought of Maria's eyes, filled with pain and betrayed trust.

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